Lamp-socket construction



Aug. 9, 1927. 1,638,691

L. A. HOFSTETTER LAMP SOCKET CONSTRUCTION I Filed April1l 1926 WITNESSES INVENTOR BY WW w a' (ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 9, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LAwnnNcn A. norsrnmnn,or UNIoN CITY, NEW JERSEY.

LAMP-SOCKET CONSTRUCTION.

. Application filed April 14, 1926. Serial No:102,02 4.

lamp can be quickly discovered.

A further object is to provide a lamp construction for this apparatus which is simple, efficient, durable, economical to manufacture and composed of a minimum number of parts.

The invention is illustrated in the drawings, of which- Figure 1 is a side elevation ofa pair of lamps in circuit with the new and improved form of socket;

Figure 2 is a section through the socket with a lamp disposed therein.

The form of the invention shown in the drawings is a preferred form, although itis understood that modifications in the construction and arrangement of the parts and in the character of the materials used may be adopted without departing -from the spirit of the invention as set orth in the appended claims.

In its general aspect the invention comprises a socket for a'lamp which is resiliently mounted and provided with means whereby. the filament is placed in circuit when the socket is disposed in one position and whereby the filament is short circuited when the socket is moved to another position. This general efie'ct is achieved by mounting the socket within a casing on a resilient cushion which holds it in an elevated position. The connections to the socket in this position are such that the filament is placed in circuit. .When however, the socket is disposed against the action of' the cushion contacts are madewhich short circuit the filament.

In this manner and with this construction if a plurality of lamps are disposed in a series circuit and are each provided with sockets of this kind, whenever one of them blows out at its filament, the lamp with the broken filament may be discovered merely by successively depressing each lamp in its socket until that lamp, WhlCh when depressed will cause the balance of the'circuit to be illuminated. This, illumination with the lamp thus depressed is theone with the. "broken filament.

thereby directly In the preferred form of the invention I show a lamp having a bulb 10, a base shell 11 and a central base contact 12. This lamp 1s adapted to be screwed into a socket 13 which is of the usual type, only in this-case 11; is supported Within the casing 14 on a resilient cushion such as a spring 15 held beneath oppositely extending pins 16 and 17 formed on the socket. These pins slide 1n slots 18 and 19 in the casing 14. In the bottom of the socket- 13 is an insulating washer 20 which supports a contact disc 21 from which a conducting stem 22 projects through an opening 23 in the bottom of the socket. .W ire 24v is connected to this stem 22 and passes through an insulating sleeve .25 disposed in the bottom of the casing 14.

Wire 26 is connected to a conducting disk 27' which is disposed in the bottom of the casing,-the casmg 14 being of insulating material. 7

As shown in Figure. 2, when the lamp is screwed into the socket and is in the osition shown, the circuit would be as fo ows:-- from wire 24, stem 22, contact disc 21, contact 12 on the base of the lamp through the filament of the lamp to the recess 11, thence I to the socket 13 through the spring 15 to the disk 27 to the wire 26. When the lamp is depressed against the action of spring 15 the stem 22 will contact with the disk 27 and connect wires 24 and 26, thus short-circuitin'g the filament of the lamp. Therefore if this lam is one with a broken filament in series wit a plurality of others which are unbroken, then the depression of this lamp will re-establish the circuit by short-circuiting this broken filament and immediately indicate the lamp which needs replacement.

What I claim is:

1. A lamp socket which comprises a socket to receive a lamp base, a casing in which the socket is movably mounted, resilient means for supporting the socket in the casing and holding it in normal position,

means for placing the lamp filament in cirfilament in circuit when the socket is held in outward position by the spring, and

' means for'short-circuiting the filament when the socket is slid in the casing against the action of the spring.

3. In combination with a lamp socket, a

1 casing in which said socket is disposed, a retween the shell of the lamp and vthe socket, connections between the socket and the disk and means whereby when the socket is de-' pressed against the action of the cushion the central contact of the lamp is brought in contact with the disk. v

4. In combination a casing, a socket therein, a coil spring resiliently supporting said 20 supported on said washer, a dependent con-- ducting stem connected to the disc and projecting through said opening, said disc adapted to make contact with the central base contact of a lamp disposed in the socket. a wire connected to the conducting stem and insulated from the casing, a wire connected to the disk in the bottom of the casing, said stem and disk adapted to be brought in contact when the socket is depressed.

LAWRENCE HOFSTETTER. 

